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Friday, August 12, 2011

Impression: Cedar Point

How does
one even begin to critique Cedar Point? I sit down to right this review
apprehensively, not quite knowing how to start talking. Cedar Point is
practically my second home, the park I've been visiting since before I can
remember. Whether it's the rides, the atmosphere, or the personal factor that
makes it my favorite park, I don't know. What was originally supposed to be a
one-and-a-half day trip turned into an amazing three day trip.

We started
out with the family on Thursday night with Platinum Passholder ERT on Magnum and
Top Thrill Dragster. We fought against the crowds to move further into the
park, and by the time we reached Dragster, the line was extended all the way to
the station. Not a good way to start out. We noticed that the queue had not been
opened, however, so we got in line anyway. The longer we waited, however, we
began to realize it would be smarter to head to Magnum, which closed at 10:45
regardless of opening time, and come back to Dragster later. With that, we got
out of line and headed over to Magnum.

Photo courtesy of Cedar Point

The first
ride on Magnum was my personal favorite. I grabbed the front row, left seat,
and got a very smooth, thrilling, and airtime-filled ride. Magnum was
absolutely flying over the tracks, ejector airtime on every hill. Better yet,
it was one of the smoother rides I've had recently and it was bug-free. I sat
in the back row for the next ride, my only complaint here being the roughness.
It wasn't really that bad, but it was much more noticeable than in the front. I
always recommend the front row on Magnum if you want the best ride. While the
'ejector seat' (row 3, left seat) is preferred by some for the airtime, I find
the increase in airtime to be minimal and prefer the front for the smoother
ride and the equally impressive airtime.

Photo courtesy of Cedar Point

We managed
to get three terrific rides on Top Thrill Dragster after that, with no more
than a 5 minute wait for any of them. We started out in the middle of the
train, moving to the back row for the second ride, and front row on the third.
I was not sure we would make it on for that last ride, as ERT was ending and
ride operators were moving guests to other rows to fill up the trains. We stood
firm the whole time and got our ride, thou, which was just as exhilarating as
ever. We took off down the launch track at incomprehensible speed, my arms
flying upward instantly without my consent. We hurtle up and over the top hat, slowing just long enough for me to
view the whole park laid out around me. We fly downward once again, and in what
feels like a split second, the ride is over. This really is one of my favorite
rides in the park. It's short and simple, but the adrenaline rush is unmatched.
After the ERT finally had to end, we left the park tired and happy.

Ocean Motion

The next
morning started out with some light rain showers, that put a damper on our
spirits as we arrived at the park around 11. By the time we made it in, it was
coming down quite hard, and we pulled into "Donut Time" to come up
with a plan. None of the rides were open, we were disappointed, and we almost
left. I managed to convince the family to wait a little longer, and sure
enough, the rain slowed down to a light drizzle. A few of us walked over to the
newly remodeled (and moved) Ocean Motion, which was just as fun as I remembered
it and now looking ten times better. My only complaint with the new setup was
that riders exited on the same side as they entered, causing a few jam-ups on
the platform. We stopped back into Donut Time to catch up with the rest of the
group before heading over to maXair, which looked to be one of the few open
rides in the park.

maXair

We arrived
at the 45 minute wait just a few minutes later in slightly heavier rain, and
spirits were low once again. The ride ops were fortunately very efficient, and
we managed to get on in about 30 minutes instead. Power Tower, maXair, Skyhawk,
and now Windseeker make a great collection, and maXair is definitely one of my
favorites. It's wonderfully thrilling and relaxing at the same time; if I only
had a pillow, the soothing spinning/swinging motion could put me to sleep.
Still, the height and speed keep me alert, and together make this an excellent
ride.

Power Tower

It was just
starting to clear up again, and we headed over to Wicked Twister. None of us
wanted to wait 45 minutes for a ride that's usually a walk-on, so we headed
deeper into the park. A few of us went to ride Power Tower, me included, while
others took a spin on Matterhorn. We did "Space Shot," which had a
shorter line and is usually my favorite. Despite my love of roller coasters, I
am terrified of heights. I'm usually fine on roller coasters because I feel
enclosed and am secured with lap bars, seat belts, and other harnesses. These
drop towers are much more intense as I am exposed on the outside of the tower,
but I love them anyway. Once again, it's not a very complex or interesting ride, but just plain fun and exciting.

Mantis

We were
itching to get on some coasters, so we headed back around the Iron Dragon
lagoon area and towards the Frontier Trail. Iron Dragon had a massive line and
Wildcat was closed, so we moved on. Mantis, however, had a 45 minute line,
which we somehow ended up in only moments later. The line moved quickly enough,
and we ended up filing into one of the middle rows with a short line. All
buckled into the uncomfortable seats, we took off up the lift hill. This ride
on Mantis was actually better than most of mine in the past. Still quite rough
and head-bangy toward the end, but the first half wasn't too bad. I might. Even
be able to call it 'decent' rather than simply 'tolerable'.

We moved towards
Millennium Force next, which had a surprisingly short wait of 30 minutes.
Before we got in line, we decided that we wanted to get a bite to eat. Thus, we
walked all the way to the back of the park for Chick-fil-A. After a delicious
lunch of lightly-breaded chicken, we headed over to Maverick, in the rain once
again. We got into the hour-and-a-half wait anyway, worrying that our day was
slowly getting away from us and we had only been on a small handful of rides.
Maverick stayed open during the rain, only stopping briefly to put two more
trains on the tracks. We ended up boarding in about one hour, as Maverick is
generally one of the fastest-moving lines in the park.

Maverick

What a
ride! Maverick remains firmly placed in my top 10. Maverick has everything I love
in coasters: speed, airtime, twists and turns. It's such a fast, out of control
ride, and yet still very well structured to include so many great elements. We
fly up that lift hill, with that same feeling of speed that I find on
Diamondback's splashdown, before we tip over the crest and almost instantly
pull out of an unbelievably steep drop. Twisting and turning through the rocks,
we hurtle over the first airtime hill just to be thrown out of our seats. After
a few beautifully smooth turns and some inversions, we enter the launch tunnel.
Mere seconds later, we're shooting out the other end and up over the lagoon,
before coming down into the s-curve that should have been the third inversion.
A few great twists, a Stengel dive, another airtime hill, and we come to a
stop. All of these elements are perfectly packed into one average-sized ride,
that has earned its place in my top ten.

Skyhawk

We walk
quickly over to Skyhawk next, trying to avoid a painful ride on Mean Streak by
riding something better instead. One thing that I love about Skyhawk is that it
is almost always a walk-on, and today was no exception. We strap ourselves in
and fly backward with great power, building speed as we swing backward and
forward. As we finally reach maximum height, I look around at the guests below
me and the rest of the park upside down once we swing the other way. We begin
slowing down almost immediately, finally coming to an abrupt stop. As much as I
love Skyhawk, it has an upsettingly short ride cycle, nowhere near as long as when
it opened in 2006. I try to focus on the great ride experience instead as we
walk back towards Millennium Force.

Millennium Force

We shove
our stuff in a locker and run to the still-short 30 minute line. Soon enough,
I'm seated in the second row of my favorite roller coaster at Cedar Point. We
speed up the lift hill, and I spend those few seconds looking out to the left,
trying to take in the whole park despite our ever-increasing height and my fear
of it. I jolt my head back towards the front just as we crest the lift, and my
hands fly up once again as we hurtle towards the ground on this seemingly
never-ending drop. My vision starts to grey as we go through the first
overbanked turn, but it clears up just as we enter the first tunnel. Up the hill we go, still flying but with
little airtime to be had. I look around at the rest of Millennium Force and now
Shoot the Rapids as we traverse the next few turns. We hop over the next hill,
this time hitting some strong floater air, before another tunnel and another
good airtime hill. Just one more overbank and the ride is over. I really do
wonder if it deserves my #2 spot sometimes, as the airtime is simply decent and
the rest of the ride is filled with repetitive overbanks. For me, though,
there's simply nothing to compare with that level of intensity. The forces
aren't particularly strong through most of the ride, but that height and speed
make for a simply unforgettable ride.
For me, that first drop is the very definition of thrill: unbridled
speed and excitement. I absolutely love it.

Raptor

As it's
getting quite late in the day now, we decide that we want to finish up with one
or two last rides. I was really pulling for a ride on Windseeker, but it had
been down all day to to rain and... high winds? That didn't quite make sense,
but we moved on to Raptor, which was fortunately a walk-on. We decided to wait
one cycle for the front row, as for some reason it really enhances the
experience more than on some rides. We climb the lift hill, swoop down towards
the ground, and up into the iconic vertical loop. Into the great zero-g roll we
go, and then we enter the cobra roll. After the MCBR, it's just a few flat
spins and turns before we hit the breaks. It's not a particularly ingenious
layout, but it still manages to be one of my favorite coasters in the park.
Maybe the elements are not very unique, but they are arranged well and are
themselves quite forceful. The loop is average, but the zero-g roll and cobra
roll are both excellent. The corkscrews always take me by surprise, and overall
I am continually impressed with Raptor's grace and force. Not only is it an
exciting ride, but it is very elegantly designed; the signature B&amp;amp;amp;M smooth
transitions, the interweaving layout, and even small things such as the short
straightaway before the cobra roll, just long enough to catch your breath.
Raptor truly is an excellent design.

We headed
towards the exit after that, knowing that we had ridden so many great rides and
roller coasters in one day. I was still quite upset about missing Windseeker,
and was desperate to come up with a plan. We decided to book a room at
Kalahari, and ended up spending most of the next day at the waterpark, which
was fantastic! We only had about an hour to get back to Cedar Point for one
ride on Windseeker.

Windseeker

We run into
the park, past other enticing rides like Raptor, maXair, and Wicked Twister, to
reach our final destination: Windseeker. With a posted wait of 30 minutes, we
hop into the makeshift overflow queue. Like all Cedar Point lines, this one
moves very fast, and we soon find ourselves entering the ride area, dumping our
stuff in a bucket, and hopping into our assigned seats. Let me just say - these
restraints are terrifying. The lap bar comes down smoothly, but once you think
it's locked, it still moves a little, which scared me quite a bit. No time to
worry though, as we raise up off the ground, me clinging to the small and
already sweaty handle. We start spinning, higher and higher, as I look out at
the park, still gripping the handle intensely, and my sister with her eyes
closed and talking to herself. Despite what some may say, this is definitely a
thrill ride. The motion itself is nothing all to exciting, but the sheer height
and sense of speed will be enough to scare some riders, like me, more than they
expected. I manage to raise my hands half-heartedly just as we start the
descent, still looking out at the park, which seems to be on it's side. Despite
how scary it may be for me personally, I will definitely have to ride it again,
and very soon.

As 10pm was
quickly approaching, we knew we had no time for other rides. We stuck to our
plan, stopping only for a hot dog at Pinks. It was the perfect way to end the
night.

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Winterim

This month, I'll be studying "The Business of Fun" as my Winterim. Winterim is a special program at my school in which students can design their own elective courses on a subject of their choice. I'll get to go behind the scenes at Cedar Point, attend IAAPA 2013, research amusement industry history, and visit iconic parks as I learn what it takes to run such a massive operation as an amusement park.